Getting lost.

My quest for fitness resulted in me getting lost during an afternoon walk. At the moment Reading is like a giant building site so I have a reasonable excuse. Brian and Lynne rescued me by car following a "help" phone call.

Since then life has been a whirlwind.

Xmas day meal...........

I'm convinced the usual Xmas dinner of turkey is is overrated so  "our" choice this year of rib of beef went down well,especially as Brian excelled himself cooking it.

Relaxation and wreaths,,,

.Xmas day was quiet,with the usual  heavy doses of food and wine ( shared with Marlene and Brian ). The afternoon was spent listening to Radio 5 and relaxing while the girls visited parents and younger brother graves,as Lynne and I had done the day before,combined with an hour or two with Margaret and Bob.

Immediately after Xmas I was once again retained in yet another psychiatric ward of Leicester hospital,but at least this time it was more modern than the previous ones and had individual,lockable rooms and showers. The downside was we were "observed" every 15 minutes during the night and expected to remain in the "rectivation" room every day,although rectivation was limited to dominoes and other family board games (yawn/yawn) plus billiards on a table that leaned to one side,despite many failed attempts to level it using beer mats apparently donated by local pubs as required . 

As they were short of beds I was unexpectantly sent home after my consultants and medical team agreed it was safe to do so..and there I stayed until mid May, when it finally stopped raining. The area surrounding our village was flooded

Winter wonderland

After days of intense snow storms we managed to get home through a Disney landscape thanks to 4wd  and determination.

The family Xmas meal ( with only the Chester mafia section missing ) was a great success .

We broke our journey at Reading for a couple of days with Marlene and Brian and then a thaw slowly set in.

Freezing sunshine

We have had a strange mixture of weather over the past few days ranging from glorious sunshine to freezing temperatures, often at the same time !  Heavy snow is forecast tonight, just for a change. Joel and Sophie announced rather late in the day they were staying overnight (saving heating costs, perhaps? ) It will be good to see them.

The pre - Christmas period promises to be somewhat hective,with us staying at Marlene and Brian's for a couple of days. Brian has opted to cook Christmas dinner for our family, brave man. Hopefully all our shopping is complete and Lynne has spent umpteen hours producing personal Xmas cards for friends,family and aquatencies. 

Hip,hip,hoorah

A couple of days rest cured my dodgy hip so I have decided to return to the gym to regain some fitness,probably after Xmas.

Mentally I feel Ok but I acknowledge my fitness has deteriorated in recent weeks.

From dark to sunshine

Following  my most recent disappointing visit to my hospital consultant when he dismissed me with a deflating " see you in two years" I have opted to get phsyciatric help privately, and seek legal advice, my mood has improved considerably. I refuse to be mucked about by an aged old faggot who has so little interest in me as a patient. Even the  experienced receptionist admitted she had never booked anyone an appointment so far in advance.

The consultant offered no coping advice other than curtailing my physical activities to match my "current ability capabilities",in other words a slow downhill slide to death. I intend to see the old trout in two years time.

Hip update

It is fine as long as I rest it, otherwise it remains painfull. A quick visit to a walk in medical centre confirmed bruising only and a supply of very strong painkillers, which worked immediately.

Knackered hip

Having made slow but steady progress health-wise over recent weeks I set myself back considerably by falling in the living room with a huge thump, damaging my left hip somewhat, making walking and getting upstairs difficult. Having suffered at the hands of Leicester A and E previously (7 months walking on a broken leg) I decided to rest it for a few days, in the hope it was only bruising, which it was. Four days later the hip is much improved but walking remains slow.

Nothing new

It is extremely quiet on the western front, but I suspect it will explode in due course. The rumours have stopped,perhaps the rumour-monger's have just got cold feet?

Amazon owes £200 million in unpaid tax

The EU courts have decided amazon owe £20Omillion in unpaid tax and expect them to repay it quickly,following a similar decision against Apple for a far larger amount.

Predicted scores league

Having totally missed the first week of the season my team, Sidonie, is quietly creeping  up the league table, almost unnoticed. The idea is to predict Premier league scores as accurately as possible in return for points. Naturally Sidonie racked up a fat O for the first game and is currently playing catch-up, quite successfully it seems.

Indoor bowls returns

Having opted out of outdoor bowls during the "summer" I hope to return to action this afternoon, indoors. Results should be interesting. Watch this space.

My health has been up and down in the interim, and to be honest I am starting to be frustrated at the lack of any real progress and not helped by the further delay in returning my driving licence. I would love to meet the so-called consultant deemed responsible for the apparent daft experimental simultaneous treatment of chemotherapy and radiopherapy but he has "left" the hospital very quietly without trace. SHAME. I have reserved a cubicle in A and E for him.

Would you believe it, bowls was cancelled due to a clashed booking and I am on the Isle of Man next week.

Hurricane tail ends.

Fortunately the 3 hurricanes which devastated much of the USA appear to have missed us,allowing us to visit Warwick castle, now owned and well maintained by the meridian Group. You need to have won the lottery to enter.nothing is cheap,although it is well worth a visit.

Ever dwindling circles.

Having unsuccessfully attempted to sell Joel's bike on EBay we received a number of emails which indicated it is a much sought after make, worth considerably more than we realised ,but we have been unable to discover it's true value. Brian supposedly knows an expert on this subject who owns a bike shop in Pangbourne so we arranged to pop the bike over today, but at the last minute the guy announced he was going on holiday, so we opted to leave the bike with Brian as he lives at Reading, near Pangbourne, hopefully for him to get the bike valued by the bike shop owner on his return from holiday.

New regime ends

Far sooner than expected "our" new regime has ended, with me "winning" 10.....nil, which has set me thinking .( always a dangerous thing ). The addition of a competitive element ( by me ) seems to have made all the difference.

New regime

Lynne introduced a new regime today, aimed at reducing complacency in the house, of which we have both been increasingly guilty. The regime involves not wearing dressing gowns downstairs and getting dressed in our bedroom before appearing anywhere else. Simple. Guess who was the first to fail ? I'll give you a clue- It was not me.But in all fairness to Lynne she was not able to access the bathroom as we had guests staying, and she so hates putting on clean clothes unless she showers .

Yellow thing reappears.

Today is brighter but cooler,with a few fluffy white clouds hanging around behind which the sun hides for long periods,during which the temperature plummets. A typical English summer day I suppose. Global warming or climate change or what else an we call it? Answers on a postcard please.

What is that yellow thing up there?

They tell me it's the sun, but with my current memory problems and the length of the last rainy spell I can be excused on this occasion.

No real plans for today as yet, but something will spring to mind in due course no doubt. Football league predicted scores sprung to mind around lunchtime. I got the Friday night score wrong although I got the goal difference right if that makes any sense. I predicted 1.....nil to Arsenal and the actual re result was 4....3. A very exciting game,as indicated by the score . Once the actual league table is published I'll let you know,but Arsenal should be at or near the top I reckon.

Non stop rain still.

Same old,same old.

Today started off as yesterday ended. Rain. Some local roads and villages are flooded,threatening our U3A lunch club arrangements  in Nanpanton,however all turned out well as it stopped raining by lunchtime, allowing me to complete my outdoor painting in the covered alley.

Rain and more rain

The weather has turned cold and wet,in fact it has not stopped raining for several days. I woke this morning to the sound of heavy rain so stayed in bed for a leisurely breakfast. That was two hours ago and it is still precipitating,although I did get up for the evening meal.

It never stopped raining all day and evening.

Correction

Lynne,tipped off by my blog watchers in the family, scorned my description of the NHS ignoring my gist tumour implanted in my stomach wall and reminded me they are "watching"it,pending removal when it gets to a certain size? I wish I shared her optimism. No doubt the "non cancerous"gist will be subject to in depth discussion at our next hospital visit before Xmas. 

This morning reveals our alley gate requires a second coat of paint to ensure it looks perfect, so my job for today (sunny and warm) is already allocated.     

It looks perfect.

Another week begins

A cold morning heralds a new week. Last week was the first I was aware of my gist stomach tumour as the "roots" sometimes made an appearance in my mouth, a very unpleasant sensation. My weight has dropped off despite continuing my normal healthy eating regime and less exercise. The NHS "team" show little interest or concern and seem content to ignore the parasite but fail to inform me of the eventual outcome,other than removing it once it gets to an "operational size". Surely it is better to remove it before it clogs up my stomach and intestines? Very worrying.

New door painted.

I spent the afternoon painting our new alley door with a sort of lavender colour, although it has a very exotic name which bears no resemblance to the actual shade. It looks good though.

Relaxing day for us both.

I stayed in bed till lunchtime catching up on some much needed sleep and rest. I intended painting our new alley door but Lynne has yet to decide on a colour so the job will have to wait . It was cold today requiring an extra sweater or two.

I managed to topple over when I first got up but caused no damage to myself or the house.

Alley gate failure

We returned home to find our neighbour Anne wandering the street unable to gain entry to the alley. We quickly let her in via opening the door from the inside. A quick inspection revealed the door had somehow slammed shut and overstrained the shutter mechanism,thus refusing to open again. Lynne  managed a temporary repair and Anne managed to regain entry to her house, in good humour, thankfully.

Alley gate fitted

Thanks to Owen and B /Q we now a door on the street end of the alley and the alley light works. Another paint job looms.

RIP Lisa

Owen arrived with some sad and puzzling news. Apparently his girlfriend Lisa died recently in a London hospice but allegedly cited no friends or relatives.Thus making claiming, or even locating, her body difficult. Having spent the day phoning various authorities we at least pinpointed the funeral date and location,together with some information on the sequence of events prior to Lisa presenting herself at the hospice in a great deal of pain and desperation. Her life had been far from ideal due to her parents care-less attitude and a disjointed family unit.

But now at least Owen and we can say our final goodbyes and Lisa does not have to leave this world alone.

A sad day.

It appears Lisa's death may yet be classed as murder and/or assisted murder.   Euthanasia is still illegal in the UK so it may be that the "friendly nurse " and " helpful doctor", may be culpable, as will Princess Alice Hospice, based on what has come to light so far. Everything depends on what happens once the police get involved, if at all, a decision for Owen and the authorities to make in due course. We aim to "observe" developments from afar as they occur.

Home again

We have returned home from Reading refreshed, together with an electric disabled trike and,a surprise to me, a static excercise bike !  The first will help me on some of my longer trips out, the latter will hopefully make the former obsolete eventually. The trike is very light and fits in the boot easily, oncedissembled. I can't wait to use it. 

Sizzling continues

Yesterday was up in the mid-30's and today is continuing the trend. We are still in Reading, having expanded our stay by a couple of days for an unexplained reason and I am getting concerned about our new, impressive bedding plant display at home. Neighbour's have promised to water them as necessary, but no one could have predicted these extreme temperatures or how long they have lasted so far.

Health-wise I continue to regain my full faculties daily and have an appointment with my GP in a few days time to check on my prostate, as everything below the waste now seems to operate purely by gravity.

Heat wave

We are in the middle of a glorious heat wave with temperatures in the mid 30's and not dropping much at night. Today I bought a nearly new electric scooter off Brian at a bargain price which should expand my horizons considerably,.It fits easily in our car boot so should prove an asset when visiting stately home gardens. I am very pleased.

Feeling good

I am now off all those bloody happy pills, anti fit pills and the other plethora of anti pill affect pills and already feel much better. I have received a more apt form to complete for my driving licence plus a supportive letter from my consultant. 

Onwards and upwards.

Isolation 3

I am Sharing  a holiday home in the Lake District in lousy weather - rain,rain and more rain. We have managed to get out and about most days, soaking up tremendous views from the car. Our holiday home overlooks Morcambe Bay, a large expanse of quicksands , fast tides , fast currents and rocks. It is not the place to go paddling, believe me. Food and drink is good however.

We managed to lock ourselves out of the car with the keys in it,spending four hours in a small cafe whilst an RAC man and a locksmith got us back in.

The day before, Lynne and the girls spent the day shopping in a tropical rainstorm,whilst I stayed home.      Once again I found myself isolated, as neither my nor Lynne's phone could connect with the outside world. The shopping day proved a very long one. I am now fully prepared for living on a deserted island. Carer,what carer?

Isolation 2

We had a wonderful relaxing week with Linda and Terry with record temperatures throughout. However, the transitional days in Anstey ,prior to a week in the Lake District were much cooler and more English summer-like, giving us the opportunity to increase our garden colour using plants obtained in an end of season sale at a Colchester garden centre. I basically had a day to get them planted and watered-in before heading north to meet up with friends sharing a holiday cottage with us.

Lynne headed off to get her nails painted whilst I went for a badly needed hair cut . 

While Lynne was away for the day an incoming ansafone message highlighted  "my" mobile phone was missing,as were both the indoor phones from the living room and our bedroom, which raised alarms and conspiracy theories in what is left of my brain.

Miraculously all the missing phones reappeared on Lynne's eventual return home, together with plausible  explanations.

Outdoor bowls success.

I was dragged screaming to outdoor bowling yesterday by Lynne,who chose to ignore my intention to participate only in indoor bowling,   In the event it turned out to be a good decision as all my previous difficulties evaporated in the extreme heat and "my" team raced to an 8.....0 lead and an eventual 12.....8 win.

Nokia partial redemption

My "new" Nokia arrived this morning,almost identical  to my old one but with a camera added. It is a snazzy orange colour and easy to use. The only down side is I cannot use it for a "couple of weeks" while they fiddle around with my SIM card, transferring all my data, including my "old" number. It sounds too good to be true but all I can do is sit here and wait.

Isolation

My phone will not let me contact anyone or receive contact from anyone . Similarly with my iPad. Bloody new technology, I hate it.

68th birthday surprise meal

I accompanied Lynne on her regular hair colour /cut trips to London which ended at"The Star" pub/restaurant , attended by virtually all our extended family as a surprise birthday meal, which was a brilliant success. We got home exhausted at around 23.30.

Tom and Hayley bought me a fabulous pair of Aspinall foundation cut glass whiskey glasses , engraved with a gorilla  and an elephant, in a presentation box.

Tom shares my love of Howletts and Port Lympne animal Parks

Bowls fatigue

My bowls performance was pathetic over the weekend, barely reaching the Jack. The only time I did won me the end. I will have to go back to basics and seek advice, not that it has been in short supply.

The scales gave me a clue this morning, showing I have lost a stone in weight over recent weeks. Maybe my strength has suffered a similar loss?

Bowls fatigue 2

I had great difficulty in getting my bowls anywhere near the Jack on Thursday sometimes failing to reach half way,despite endless advice and encouragement from club members .apart from actually winning one end the afternoon proved ultra frustrating. Is it because I bowl right handed to avoid confusing what's left of my brain over conflicting styles with ten pin bowling ?. I'll try to bowl left handed again as an experiment next time as that should be my strongest side. Watch this space. 

68 and still going reasonably strong

My 68th birthday was especially good as Margaret and Bob made a surprise visit and Derek arranged a surprise night out for a meal and cocktails, which was great fun and also somewhat boozy. 

Bowls arrive from an unexpected source

After 8 weeks I gave up on ever receiving my new bowls from the Melton Mowbray shop so we went to a shop in Peterborough who had a vast stock and a practice rink. We finally returned with a set of bowls,a carry case and some J stickers.

I am very pleased with my new purchase and my game has improved considerably, noted by other club members and myself.

I even managed to win a few games.

Over exercise again.

By sheer accident I found myself undertaking a gym session in the morning and my first outdoor bowling match in the afternoon, both were exhausting. So much so it was as much as I could do to finally haul myself into  bed for an uninterrupted night's sleep. Outdoor bowls is considerably harder than the indoor version, particularly when I am still having to use a borrowed set of bowls as my ordered new set still has yet to arrive.

Arsenal win ! I feel good

Having been on the losing side 6 out of the last 8 games Arsenal and I enjoyed a win last night, keeping our very faint hopes of European football next season alive, a real boost for us both.......and the sun is out again. Based on my greatly improved mood over recent weeks/months I intend launching a new campaign to get off these damned anti-depressants  and to get my life back. My consultant suggests the decision must be made by my suicide nurse who suggests the exact opposite,hence my decision to begin the slow weaning off process myself, two weeks ago. Given the amount and the  variety I am currently on the process will be slower than a tortoise on stimulants, but so be it.

Easter

I felt very unwell yesterday and resorted to bed for the day, with the result I felt fine today. Typical for Easter the weather changed for the worst, cold and wet. Not so Good Friday.

Over excercise?

I felt posively knackered after all that exercise,so much so I opted to relax in bed for the day.it was more physical than mental, unlike previously. I will need to be more careful in future.

Gym and bowling

A busy day with gym in the morning and bowling in the afternoon. No sunshine today and cooler than recent days.

Ureka moments at bowling

My first "real" bowling match ended in a 4....4 draw and I played very well, as confirmed by many of the

U3A players . Naturally I was very pleased and proud. Special thanks to Stuart for his excellent coaching and extreme patience.

Carry on drugging

As suspected my shrink consultant"passed the buck regarding" weaning me off" my drug regime and elected to allow the decision to be made by my suicide nurse, Lynne and I made our own plans on the way home, commencing next weekend.watch this space.

Further improvement

After yet another week of health improvement I am in the position of trying to convince  a whole plethora of consultants to wean me off of the various drugs I am currently on (with the exception of insulin,obviously). From past experience  I know this will be a difficult task as they are always reluctant to reduce drugs, but keen to increase them. I get a bit cynical when considering the reasons why but I'll keep that to myself for now.

A healthier week and hopes for the future.

I have felt the best in recent history and undertaken several hours work in "old" Derek's garden in addition to playing bowls and walking the streets. I will rejoin the gym once the physiotherapist returns from holiday. She needs to reset my training programme having reassessed my current fitness.

Bowls. 40 years on.

I have registered with U3A and attended their Thursday afternoon flat green bowls session where Stuart took me "under his wing" and undertook to refresh my memory on the basic rules and technique  of bowls. After 2 hours practice I was very,very tired and opted for a cup of tea rather than continue for the remainder of of the session. No point in overdoing it.

The manager of the sports centre, having watched me from his office window, offered me further coaching with him on Sunday morning, which I accepted.

I have the use of a set of used U3A bowls as new sets are expensive, but our friend Derek has offered use of his father's old set,currently unused in his loft. All I need now are white trainers with grip-less soles. 

I have also been offered the chance to look after the gardens of theLeonard CHeshireDisabilty home In Anstey on a voluntary basis

New voluntary work

I Have been offered a voluntary job, literally just round the corner from my house, subject to the "normal" police checks etc. It involves looking after the small garden of a home for disabled servicemen  and women. I only need to attend as necessary ,which is ideal for me.it has been a cold and very blustery day today. We ventured into Leicester this afternoon for a new pressure cooker and came home with new wireless phones for the house!  We had to explain what a pressure cooker is to Debenham's staff but they had none in stock. john Lewis staff knew what we were after but they also had none in stock and suggested ordering on-line. Are pressure cookers extinct in shops?

Active and happy

I have signed up with the university of the third age,which provides activities for people such as me. I have signed for indoor and outdoor bowls and aim to start ASAP. Other activities I have indicated which look interesting are table tennis  and snooker among others.

I am beginning to feel much better and back to my old self.

Health report

Only two issues currently concern me on the health front. After months of pleading for the result of  the  scan to ascertain if my stomach gist (parasite) had grown or not,a sympathetic doctor phoned to confirm nothing had changed. Words cannot describe my feelings of relief, having been kept on tenterhooks for several months, unnecessarily. Typical Leicester hospital I'm afraid.

My suicide nurse visited with yet another assistant, Alison, and listed all the options open to me to assist my recovery, all previously discussed and agreed or dismissed, but not acted upon.  Even the bloody Airfix models were raised again. Heathway was one new suggestion raised and I agreed to give it a try. It is a charity for brain damaged patients to get them out of the house and into something of interest. Gardening and cooking were mentioned, amongst others. I chose gardening. Within minutes I knew it was not for me.

After some discussion with Alison I opted for bowls and/or ten  pin bowling  which she agreed to investigate and report back  .I won't hold my breath .

Hacksaw ridge

By accident we saw a film titled"Hacksaw ridge" yesterday having arrived late for the film we intended watching. I can vouch for it being of epic proportions and truly brilliant, bearing in mind it is set in World war 2, US v Japan, based on a true story of a conscientious objector who went to war as a medic and saved the lives of over 40 comrades. Be warned, it is bloody and extremely realistic.

Tinkering about

Nothing special to report, other than an eight on my scoreboard and by coincidence the sun came out mid-morning, ending several days of continuous rain.

Eight

So far,so good. A better day. Again for no apparent reason. I don't suppose my doctor will make any more sense of it than I do, but I'll persist with his idea until my next appointment. The blind leading the blind springs to mind, a bit like the bees in my head previously

Two

For no obvious reason today had to be scored as a 2.      I spent the whole day in bed feeling listless and generally down.

Better

My mood today is better. My psychology consultant has asked me to give daily "mood scores" so he can assess them on my next visit. His recommendation was scoring nine to nought with the latter meaning high,but I reversed that as 0 to 10 because for me it makes more sense. I scored today and yesterday as 8's.

LaLa Land

I can confirm the film is not worth all the hype, although I was very. Impressed with the new cinema,comfy seats, take your drinks in with you etc; plus cheap OAP entry.

The rest of the evening was spent at the hospital for my annual eye test,a total waste of everyone's time, merely repeating the same annual tests undertaken by my GP a few weeks ago but no results as yet

Even without the tests I was aware of deterioration in my sight so I arranged yet another test at my local optician  and I am in the process of choosing frames.

Forty shades of black

I awoke very late yesterday feeiing awful and convinced I was dying so stayed in bed till mid afternoon. 

LYnne seemed surprising distant and totally cold towards me,her only contact was to remind me of a later cinema date with Derek and Maureen,a new recipe she was trying which she seemed excited about, and admonishing me for using a spare piece of paper destined for her card making which she quickly put through the shredder, totally ignoring my note on it written in felt tip pen.

It was a blow to my self esteem realising I was now third in her list of affection behind cooking and card making. The note merely stated "l told them I was ill",my favourite Spike Miiligan quotation from his coffin .

Roller coasting again,

My mood continues to rise and fall for no obvious reason,but the new regime of anti-depressants is playing havoc with my diabetic control. My senior diabetic nurse is popping in to see me and Lynne next week in an attempt to resolve the issue.

A Happy New Year

We stayed in but up to see the new year in.Watching Robbie Williams in concert somewhere 

in London . We both consider him to be an arrogant pig ,but enjoyed his music,so watched

With eyes closed.